Compare 10 Masters of Arts in Curating

The focus of the Master’s programme is an academic reflection on curating and art criticism as an intellectual and aesthetic challenge with a practice-oriented perspective. The aim of the programme is to bestow skills that link an object-related approach to theoretical knowledge and expertise. One of the major interests of the programme is to open up discussions on curating and art criticism that has so far been closely connected to contemporary art to previous eras and other cultural-science disciplines.

The exhibition and museum business of the 21sth century faces new tasks and challenges. The presentation of works of art and objects of cultural and historical significance has become a complex challenge in a global art world, but also as a result of developments within contemporary art, and it, therefore, needs to take art history as well as cultural, social, political and philosophical aspects into account. Museums and other art institutions have to reformulate their concept of the public sphere. Museums are increasingly having to model public discourses.... [-]

Curating Art and Cultures is a unique, professional Master's designed to train the curators of the future. The programme is offered jointly by the UvA, the VU University and leading museums in the Netherlands.

Taking place in both the lecture hall and the exhibition space, the Dual Master’s in Curating Art and Cultures responds to the growing demand for academically-grounded curatorial professionals with excellent (inter)disciplinary and theoretical backgrounds. The programme teaches you to engage with crucial theoretical concepts and contemporary issues regarding the collection and display of art objects and cultural artefacts. It also encourages you to deepen your disciplinary knowledge and develop your research skills.... [-]

The one-and-a-half-year Dual Master's programme in Preservation and Presentation of the Moving Image invites students to critically engage with current practices of collecting and selecting, preserving and restoring, and making accessible moving images and sound.

Moving images and sound are part of our most cherished cultural heritage. They capture time and place and give shape to memory and history. They are also fleeting: they unfold in time and are affected by time. Environmental factors, material decomposition, and increasingly also technological obsolescence threaten the carriers on which they are held, and therefore, endanger their accessibility.

Established 25 years ago and led by Professor Victoria Walsh, the MA Curating Contemporary Art (CCA) programme is recognised both as an international leader in its field and for its commitment to collaborative group project-based work that integrates theory and practice throughout the two years of the curriculum. New areas of focus in response to the expanded field of curating and the widening professional opportunities for curatorial practice and research in a global context include:

Exhibitions and Programming practice focus on curating, commissioning and programming within the physical and defined setting of the gallery/museum space providing a critical, theoretical and practical understanding of the histories and opportunities within this form of curatorial practice.... [-]

ViCCA explores art in new contexts. Central for the program are the new and emergent professional practices, which are born and developed in the new spaces of cultural production. In the program art making and new professional agencies are explored within the broadened field of visual cultures.In ViCCA theory and practice are tightly interwoven and emphasis is put on developing each student’s artistic, curatorial and theoretical thinking. The programme offers great opportunities to develop research abilities and a sense for artistic and critical thinking. Learning from each other’s different professional backgrounds also plays an important role in the programme. The program offers the chance to broaden one’s professional identity and to create new ways of working, and new forms of professionalism.... [-]

A ground-breaking new MA delivered in partnership with the BFI to prepare students to build successful careers in film exhibition, programming, criticism or archival work.

The National Film and Television School’s Film Studies Programming and Curation Masters delivered in partnership with the BFI is designed for students who wish to make a career in the wider film and media culture, whether in the fields of curation, exhibition, criticism, archives, preservation or restoration. The course provides a detailed understanding of the concepts, contexts and critical thought that have shaped the production and reception of film as a basis for engagement with rapidly changing contemporary film and moving image culture. A rigorous academic framework is combined with real-world applications enabling each student to develop their own skills, knowledge, and understanding to provide a strong basis for a career in film and media.... [-]

With over 2.500 students, Zurich University of the Arts is one of the largest arts universities in Europe. We welcome students seeking to cross boundaries and bring different fields together because we are convinced that the productive exchange with other disciplines brings forth better, more versatile, and critically minded curators.

We have an excellent network worldwide — thanks to collaborations with over seventy universities in Switzerland and abroad, and with countless partners from the fields of science, culture, business, and industry. This manifold collaboration stands for the national and international relevance of our programs.... [-]

Taught by curators, working with a rich group of diverse partner organisations in the sector.

Combines contemporary practice with theory in a flexible approach.

Highlights the roles of audiences, collections and new contexts.

We focus on curating as a contemporary practice, bringing together history, theory and practice. We ask what is it that makes the role of the curator distinct, and how do we understand the essentials of curating, when it has become such a buzzword.

The course embraces contemporary curating in historic and collection-based settings as well as contemporary venues, digital, ‘pop-up’ and site-specific contexts. It is delivered by experts in the field and working curators.... [-]

Richmond University’s MA in Visual Arts Management & Curating equips students with the entrepreneurial knowledge and professional skills required to critically engage with global visual cultures of the twenty-first century and become innovative, creative and resilient leaders in their fields. The programme is taught in our Kensington campus in Central London where our students benefit from studying in close proximity to Kensington Palace, Royal Albert Hall, Victoria and Albert Museum, Saatchi Gallery and many more art galleries and institutions. The close proximity and ease of access to world-class art galleries, museums, libraries and art institution are vital to the foundation of this course.... [-]

Exploring the idea of “exhibition” in its broadest sense across the field of contemporary art, you’ll engage with gallery-based exhibitions and projects in non-traditional venues, site-specific interventions and public art projects.

Reflecting the latest thinking across curatorial studies, this practical and relevant postgraduate course acknowledges the emergence of the artist-curator, as well as more traditional routes to curatorial practice.

You’ll consider the possibilities offered by a range of platforms, from traditional museum collections, museology and archives, to virtual and interactive methods.

You’ll be aided in developing self-initiated curatorial projects, which will see you innovating and exploring ways to cultivate new audiences.... [-]